Standing on common ground

A Florida Senate committee has taken the first steps toward making much-needed changes to the controversial "stand your ground" law.

More steps lie ahead -- in both the Senate and the Florida House -- but a bipartisan approach embraced so far offers hope for amending the flawed self-defense statute.

The Senate Judiciary Committee began the difficult process Tuesday by voting 7-2 to approve a bill that adopts several recommendations made by a governor-appointed, "stand your ground" task force.

Among other proposals, the bill would:

• Prohibit people who are aggressors in confrontations from claiming "stand your ground" immunity.

• Require sheriffs and city police departments to set guidelines for "neighborhood watch" programs and limit members to observing and reporting suspected crimes.

• Specify that law enforcement must conduct a full investigation in shootings even if "stand your ground" is claimed as a defense.

The bill would leave in place the bulk of the 2005 law that allows people to use deadly force if they feel threatened.

The Trayvon Martine case

The legislation and the task force were sparked by problems that came to light in the Trayvon Martin case. In 2012, Martin, an unarmed, black 17-year-old, was followed through a gated Sanford community by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer. The two confronted each other and Zimmerman fatally shot Martin. Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder last July. Though he did not claim "stand your ground" as a defense in his trial, his earlier assertion of the law triggered massive protests, and the verdict prompted a sit-in at the state Capitol.

One of the sponsors of the Senate bill is Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs, who also sponsored the original "stand your ground" bill. Simmons still supports the law, but, to his credit, recognizes the need for changes. "I think everyone has found it is an excellent, common-sense law," Simmons told the Judiciary Committee. "But it is not perfect."

Simmons, who also was a member of the governor's task force, described the changes proposed in the bill as "truly, truly small but truly, truly important revisions."

"They reaffirm the wisdom and the validity of this, but they also affirm the wisdom and the validity of the concerns that individuals ... have with respect to the interpretation."

Simmons' co-sponsor is Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, who voted against "stand your ground" and is one of the law's most severe critics.

But, Smith told the committee, he and Simmons worked together to address areas of mutual concern.

"As we discussed 'stand your ground,' we found that we have a lot of common ground," Smith said. "We found that we agreed way more than we disagreed."

Difficult path forward

That level of cooperation will be needed as the bill proceeds through the legislative process. It must be approved by two more committees before it can come before the full Senate.

A version of the bill will have to navigate a similar process in the Florida House. But there's bipartisan hope on that front too.

A House proposal reflecting the task-force recommendations is being co-sponsored by Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, who, like Simmons, originally sponsored "stand your ground" and was a member of the task force; his co-sponsor is a Democrat, Bruce Antone of Orlando.

The bills in the Senate and House seek to remedy flaws and confusion with "stand your ground" that were exposed in the Trayvon Martin case. The sponsors' bipartisan approach suggests that these "truly important revisions" will get the fair and thorough review they truly deserve.